


A Shocking Conclusion

by Ren (Cutty_Ren)



Category: Septiplier - Fandom, YouTubers - Fandom, jacksepticeye - Fandom, markiplier - Fandom, markiplier and jacksepticeye - Fandom
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Character Death, Injections, Kidnapping, M/M, Needles, Nightmares, No Smut, Police Woman - Freeform, Tortured Mark Fischbach, Tortured Sean McLoughlin, dark dreams, kidnapped Jack, kidnapped Mark, platonic friendship, rope binding, shock collar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-30 13:55:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 8,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19404490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cutty_Ren/pseuds/Ren
Summary: Mark never considered the possibility of someone torturing him, let alone kidnapping him. Now, all he wants is to get home in one piece.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I plan to leave this story in it's raw and very lightly edited form. It was my first ever full chaptered story and I want to keep it as a reminder of where my writing started. If people want a more clean edited version then please let me know in the comments and I will work on making an updated version.

The room was dark, the smell of rust and mold pervaded the air, and a single light shone over Mark’s head. Currently, his half-naked body was secured tightly to a metal chair that was bolted to the floor. He had been knocked out earlier that day during a scuffle. Electrical wires hung like tangled spaghetti from the chair in which he occupied. The wires led from where Mark sat and into the surrounding darkness, like an unspeakable evil waiting to consume him. From that darkness, someone spoke his name…

“Mark…” The voice was too quiet, almost like someone calling softly through a fog. “Mark, time to wake up…” Still too quiet to even cause a stir from the young man. A switch was flicked that sent electricity coursing through the chair. This caused Mark to wake with a start and yell out in pain. The switch was then flicked off and the electrical current subsided leaving Mark in a dazed state.

“Good, you’re awake now.”

The same voice from earlier, but much clearer now without the haziness of sleep. Mark lifted his head slowly and peered into the surrounding darkness searching for the source of that voice. He cringed slightly as his senses were assaulted by the smell of rust and mold.

“Do you wish to see my face?” The mysterious figure asked him with a mocking tone.

“No no, it’s probably ugly.” Mark scoffed in his deep baritone, letting a crooked smile play upon his lips while he leaned back against the chair. The metal felt like ice upon his bare back and he couldn’t contain the sharp intake of breath as it touched his skin. He flexed his arms trying to subtly test the restraints that held him in place. He quickly realized though that it was pointless and gave up.

“What bad manners you have.” The figure was obviously displeased with Mark’s answer by the tone of their voice. They noticed him try to struggle free of his restraints and chuckled softly. “You didn’t think I would make it ‘that’ easy for you now, did you?” A coy smile played upon their lips as they flipped the switch again.

Hearing the switch Mark swore under his breath before the electricity hit again. It lasted longer this time. The pain was inescapable, overwhelming even, but he managed to clench his teeth and just ride it out. A loud gasp for air escaped his lips after the current subsided.

“How sad, you didn’t cry out like last time. I was so hopeful.” The tormentor sounded almost sincere if it weren’t for the hint of venom in their tone. “Now that you understand your…” they paused for a moment, contemplating a good way to phrase their next words. “Predicament, do you plan on sharing the location of your house with me?”

Mark’s mind was racing trying to figure out the motive that drove this person. “What do you want with my home?” His voice sounded like softly trodden gravel. He eyed the darkness desperately trying to figure out who this person was.

The switch was flipped again and Mark clenched his teeth while the electricity flowed through him. He groaned loudly at first and then opened his mouth to cry out “aaAHHHH!!” His muscles spasm uncontrollably beneath the restraints. Why were they doing this to him? What was the point? What was the reason they wanted to know where he lived? The current shut off and Mark slumped forward, breathing heavily. His body was now wracked with tremors that he couldn’t hide.

“I would recommend not trying to deflect my questions with your own.” The person warned. “Now, answer the question. Will you tell me the location of your home?”

Mark desperately tried to think of a lie to tell them but he realized that any address he gave could lead to innocent people dying. He decided to swallow his pride and give a direct answer. “No…NO! I will not tell you where I live!” With that, he spat into the darkness.

“Too bad… guess we’ll have to try some other method.” As the person finished speaking Mark could hear footsteps coming from behind him. He attempted to break free from the restraints again but it still didn’t work. As he struggled a large hand appeared from his left and roughly pulled him back against the chair. Mark gritted his teeth and tried to fight against the man holding him back. He felt a sudden sharp pain in his neck as a syringe injected him with something. He felt his limbs growing weak as his vision started to fade. All he could think about as his world became darker was ‘why me?’

\----------------------------

Jack had just finished uploading his second video of the day when he got the notification for Mark’s new video. He grins in relief - the man hadn’t posted anything in a while, and he’d been getting worried.

He clicks on it quickly, and his smile drops as it loads. It’s not like his normal videos, not at all. In fact… It looks like it’s being filmed in some abandoned place that’s dark and gross and… is that Mark?

There he was, tied to a chair, looking beaten up and injured. Jack watches in growing terror as the torture starts, a chill running down his spine. Who the fuck was doing this to his friend? His sweet, amazing friend who definitely didn’t deserve any of this, or anything even close. Jack full-on cringes when he screams, such a broken sound…

He forces himself to sit through the rest of the short video, to see if there’s any hint to his location. He was only a couple towns over, visiting a friend, and he writes a quick note about how he had to go. He gets in his rental car and starts driving, absolutely raging. And scared. But he’s loudly cursing to cover it, and his phone is in his hands and he’s calling the cops. All he can think about is finding Mark and tearing the bastard who’s doing this to him apart.


	2. Chapter 2

Mark woke up on the floor of a rust ridden room, his muscles felt sore and the spot where he had been injected still hurt like hell. The air tasted stale, with a hint of the strong familiar moldy smell that had permeated the other room he was tortured in. He wanted to get up but his joints wouldn’t move. “Dammit! Why… why are you doing this to me?” He could barely bring himself to speak in his normal baritone voice. His voice was hoarse due to all the screaming he had done earlier and due to the severe dehydration he was subjected to. A few minutes passed and he tried to muster all of his strength just to sit up. He managed to prop himself up against a nearby wall before passing out again.

Sirens…Sirens everywhere… Mark awoke to a cacophony of sound. What was going on? He wanted to stand up and listen to the door but his strength was gone. All he could do was sit and wait for something to happen.

CRASH! The door suddenly flung inwards as four people wearing black uniforms, bulletproof vests, and carrying handguns stormed in. At first they trained their weapons on Mark for a moment, who was obviously not the threat, before quickly lowering them again. One of the four officers came forward and knelt beside Mark.

“Sir, can you hear me?” The officer was a thin athletic brunette with a deep alto voice that did not match her frame.

Mark gave a small nod of the head to signal that he could hear the officer. This gesture caused pain to trail from his neck down to his spine. He winced and clenched his teeth reflexively.

The officer could see how much pain he was in and quickly called out on her radio. “We found the kidnapped victim. He appears to have been subjected to shock torture and possible blunt force trauma. Requesting permission to escort the victim to safety.” The officer waited patiently for a response all the while keeping her eyes trained on Mark. A response came seconds later…

“Permission granted.”

The female officer then signaled to the rest of the squad to carefully grab Mark. One of the squad members was a rather large and burly man. He proceeded to gently lift Mark off the ground by placing one arm under Marks shoulder and the other under the crook of his legs.

Mark tried to keep himself from crying out as the officer lifted him effortlessly off the ground. He was in a lot of pain but was also tired, thirsty and starving from being so poorly treated over the past couple of days. His mind felt so foggy and light headed that he barely noticed as the squad moved through the building. He could hardly tell that the building was mostly just an empty warehouse with nothing but two make-shift rooms set up in the back. One was the torture room, and the other was the cell like room they kept him in when he wasn’t being questioned.

As the officers brought him outside, to the collection of cop cars and to the source of all the sirens, Mark squinted his eyes in response to the blinding sunlight. They brought him over to an ambulance and placed him down on a stretcher. They were about to strap him to it when Mark started flipping out. “NO! PLEASE! DON’T RESTRAIN ME AGAIN!” Despite his sore arms he began thrashing about but something made him stop just as soon as he had started. Mark heard the sound of one of his dear friends call his name. “Jack? Is that you?” His voice was almost gone but he wanted to know it was him.

Jack had flat-out refused to leave the officers to their job, so persistent that eventually, they just gave in and let him drive behind them. But when he saw his friend, he couldn’t hold back. Especially hearing his distress. It unnerved him, seeing Mark like this, when he was so constantly cheery, and all he wants is to comfort him.

“MARK!” he shouts as an officer manages to catch him. He struggles, and shouts out again when he hears the weak response. “Fuckin’ let me through! I’m his friend, and I demand ta see him!”

He starts to put up a real fight, but it becomes unnecessary a moment later, when one of the officer’s higher-ups says to let him through. He mutters a thanks, but he’s already running to the ambulance. He falters slightly at the sight of him, but reaches out to squeeze his hand. “Mark, I’m here,” he says quietly. “You’ll be alright. I promise.”

Mark’s skin looked a sickly pale, and the smell of burnt hair and flesh hung in the air around him. A paramedic came over to ask Jack if he intended to ride in the back. Mark glanced over at the paramedic with a perplexed expression. “OF COURSE HE’LL RIDE IN THE BACK!” A small wince contorted his face as he shouted and pain shot through him again.

Jack gave a quick nod to the paramedic indicating he would like to ride in the back. Before hoping in, Jack inquired if one of the officers would be so kind as to drive his rental car to the hospital. The female officer who had lead the rescue team agreed to escort the ambulance using Jack’s rental car. After everything was said and done the EMTs quickly lifted Mark’s stretcher up into the vehicle and everyone piled in. With sirens blaring and lights flashing the ambulance quickly sped off towards the hospital.

———————————————————————————————  
(Meanwhile, in a black van parked at a secondary warehouse.)

"Is the tracker working?" The tormentor from earlier spoke softly to one of their techs while watching with a fixated glare at the monitors positioned along the inside walls.

The tech took a moment to glance back at the figure “Yes, unless they do an x-ray or MRI scan the tracker should continue to function normally until we shut it off.” His gaze returned to the screens lined before him. “It looks like they are moving Mark to the hospital now.”

The tormentor frowned slightly at the thought of how all their precious time torturing the young Mark would be for not after the hospital finished patching him up. “Huh, pity” With a light pat of the tech’s shoulders the tormentor turned to leave the van. “Let me know when he leaves the hospital, or if something happens to the tracker.” The tormentor called from over their shoulder before closing the van door behind them.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack had kindly been asked to sit in the waiting room outside of Mark’s hospital room. Mark needed immediate medical attention and was not in a state to accept visitors yet. Jack understood the doctor’s request to sit and wait but it didn’t mean he was happy about it. He reluctantly sat down in the nearest chair and let a string of Irish curses leave his lips. ‘I don’t know who did this to ya buddy…’ Jack thought angrily to himself cupping his face in his hands, ‘but I will fook'n find out.’ The whole situation had him all riled up.

The sound of Footsteps made Jack look up to see the female officer from earlier walking towards him. He quickly jumped to his feet and moved to meet her halfway. “ 'ello officer…” he paused realizing that she had never given her name.

The officer simply smiled picking up the hint. “McCoy” Was her curt reply. “I’m officer Sharen McCoy.” She reached out her hand that held Jack’s keys to the rental car. “I was going to hand these back to you in the parking lot, but you sped off to follow the stretcher so I didn’t get the chance.”

Jack politely grabbed the keys from her hand. “Thank you for bringing my rental car. I planed to bring Mark home after 'e gets cleared to leave.” Jack looked from the keys back to McCoy. A worried expression sat heavily upon his brow.

McCoy reached out her hand and gently placed it on Jack’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry too much.” She gave Jack a reassuring smile. “Your friend will be alright. We’ll do what we can to find the people responsible for hurting him.” McCoy removed her hand from Jack and turned to leave. With one last glance over her shoulder she made a parting statement. “You take care of yourself, and take good care of your friend. He’ll need it after what he went through.”

Jack nodded in understanding. “I will, and thank you for saving him. It means a lot to me and to his Family, Fans, and friends.”

“You’re welcome.”

Then with a slight nod officer McCoy left down the hall and Jack took a seat back in his chair.

\-------------------------------  
(2 hours later)

Mark startled awake in his hospital bed. He had been under a heavy dose of anesthesia just so the doctors could patch him up without him panicking. The smell of plastic mixed with blood and rubbing alcohol brought back memories of when he was in the hospital just last year for his surgery. His whole body felt so sore, he couldn’t even remember all of the bullshit he went through over the past few days. He looked down at his arms and saw them wrapped in bandages. He could also feel bandages on his neck, chest, and back; all places where the electricity had entered his body. His deep brown eyes searched the room to find no one there. He was alone and it brought back a crushing sadness to him. At first silent tears started to roll down his cheek but he soon broke down into a full cry as all of the pain from the past few days caught up to him.

The door to his room suddenly flew opened and Jack came rushing in calling his name. “Mark, hey, it’s alright. Y’re safe.” Jack grabbed Mark’s hand to try and comfort him.

Mark couldn’t stop crying, he was in so much pain and distress over what happened that the built up emotions just poured out in a mixture of cries and whimpers. Jack decided it was best to just sit there holding Mark’s hand until the crying finally subsided. It took a bit of time til Mark finally stopped crying enough to speak. Mark’s voice was still shot but he tried his best to speak loud enough for Jack to understand.

“C-could you get me so-some water please?” He coughed slightly after the last word.

Jack smiled down at him “Of c'urse.” He took one of the plastic cups nearby and filled it with some drinking water. “Here ya go” Jack placed the cup within arms reach on the bed tray. Mark tried to reach for the cup but faltered about halfway when pain shot through his arm and he winced. Jack then grabbed the cup and leaned over his bed. “Ya alright if I help you with this?” Jack asked politely. Mark nodded a yes and Jack held the cup to his lips tilting it up slowly so as not to make Mark choke on water going down to fast.

When the cup was empty Jack placed it back on the bed tray. His light blue eyes came to rest on Mark and that worried expression from earlier came back. “Do ya have any clue about who did this to you?”

Mark shook his head no. “I-I was at Disneyland with some friends. Two guys dressed as se-security guards knocked me unconscious when I was next to Grizzly Peak.” He coughed again. “After that I remember waking up to being electrocuted in a dark room.” He frowned and quivered at the thought.

At that moment a doctor quietly walked in through the open door that Jack had forgotten to close. It was a tall thin Indian woman with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail. The doctor had a concerned look on her face when she saw Jack in the room but it dissipated when she noticed Mark was firmly gripping Jack’s hand. With clipboard in hand she quickly cleared her throat and spoke to them both. “Hello Mr. Fischbach I’m Doctor Pourmassina, I hope you are feeling better now than when you first came in.” The doctor was trying to make light of the situation but Jack and Mark found it hard to laugh about the whole thing. “Anyway…” She continued "You suffered minor electrical burns and some light bruising around your chest and back. The soreness you are probably feeling right now is from your muscles being forced to tense up for extended periods of time with no break. X-ray revealed no broken bones, or internal bleeding so the best thing for you to do now is to go home and rest.“ She directed the last part mostly at Jack indicating that he should take care of Mark until he feels better. "I’ve written you a prescription for Oxycontin that you can pick up from the pharmacy office down by the main lobby.” She promptly handed the prescription papers to Jack. “Take care.” Doctor Pourmassina then left the room and quietly closed the door behind her allowing Mark and Jack time to think about what she said.


	4. Chapter 4

At that moment Jack’s phone buzzed. He checked it and saw that three different people had messaged him. Bob, Wade, and Ryan had all sent Jack messages wanting to know if Mark was ok. Jack took a couple minutes to send them all replies letting them know that Mark was safe and that they were just about to head home. He then locked his phone and turned his attention back to Mark. “Are ya ready to get going?” Jack still had a hint of concern in his voice but knowing Mark was safe and that he would feel better soon helped ease his mind.

Mark fixed Jack with a very grumpy expression but he managed to push himself up and off the bed. Standing was ok, but walking was a little hard since his muscles were still sore. He didn’t want to make things harder on Jack though, so he just powered through the pain and casually limped out of the hospital room, with Jack following close behind.

“Are ya sure ya don’t want some help? Like a wheelychair or some crutches?” Jack made a halfhearted poke at him being so stubborn about walking on his own.

Mark glared at Jack this time. “For fucks sake Jack, I’m fine. Stop asking!” His voice was a little better as he used his normal sarcastic anger. He knew how much Jack was worried about him and he did sincerely appreciate the gesture but at the same time he really wanted to do this on his own.

After stopping by the pharmacy to grab Mark’s prescription they both hopped into Jack’s rental car and drove back to Mark’s place.

———————————————————————  
(In a Black van parked near the hospital.) 

“They just left the hospital.” The tech from earlier spoke plainly.

“Good.” The tormentor grinned with excitement. “Let’s go. Keep a good 3 block distance. Don’t let them know we’re following.” They took a seat in the passenger side and opened up a black military laptop. The tormentor then loaded a program that was connected to the tracker and just watched a map of LA, giving instructions on where to turn when the tracker changed streets.

They followed for 30 minutes before turning down Mark’s neighborhood. They waited for Mark and Jack to head inside before parking a block away. Everyone got out of the van and made their way to Mark’s house. The tormentor took a moment to press a small icon, that looked like a lightning bolt, in the tracker program before closing the laptop and setting their sights back on Mark’s house.

Jack had gone off to grab Mark a drink when he heard a loud thud followed by Mark crying out in pain. Jack wasted no time, he placed the glass of water down on the kitchen counter and ran to check on Mark. When he got to the main hallway Jack swore as he saw Mark laying face down on the floor. “Mark! What happened!? Are ya alright?” He knelt down next to Mark and tried to lift him back up, but it was like lifting dead weight and he had to give up.

“I… I can’t move… my body is completely paralyzed.” Mark managed to barely squeeze out these words.

Jack could see the fear in Mark’s eyes and he couldn’t help but swear some more trying to think of what to do. A knock at the door made him jump. 'Who would be knocking on Mark’s door at a time like… NO!’ Jack knew exactly who it was. 'Dammit, NO! Not again!’ Jack pulled out his phone and started dialing 911… but the call never made it through…


	5. Chapter 5

The kidnappers were obviously blocking his call and Jack knew his options were limited. Before the people outside could barge in Jack had to make a judgment call. “I’m so sorry Mark.” There was a mixture of fear, pain, and regret in his voice as he gritted his teeth and leaped to his feet.

The front door flew open with a loud slam but Jack was already heading for the back yard. Jack threw open the sliding door and sprinted to the left wall dividing Mark’s house from his neighbor’s. His heart was pounding in his throat, making it hard to breathe, but he forced himself to climb over the wall and into the neighbor’s yard. He didn’t stop there though, he went two more houses over before trying to catch the attention of some neighbors that were relaxing next to their pool.

Mark laid on the floor helpless as the door flew open and a pair of footsteps slowly approached him. He told his body to move but it wouldn’t listen. A familiar voice suddenly drained all the color from his face and made his stomach churn.

“I told you that I wouldn’t make it that easy.” The Tormentor had knelt beside him to whisper this softly into Mark’s ear. A callous grin played upon the Tormentor’s lips as they spoke their next words. “Bind and gag him. We need to be ready for the police, I know his friend went somewhere to go and call them.”

One of two large men stepped forward and knelt next to Mark. Using a zip tie they bound Mark’s hands together behind his back. In an effort to muffle Mark’s cries for help they forced him to bite a soft rag and then tied it behind his head. They then lifted Mark off the ground and carried him upstairs.

“Leave him on the bed.” The man who had carried Mark then carefully propped him up against the headboard of his bed. Mark desperately tried to get his body to move but to no avail.

“We need to get things ready.” The Tormentor spoke plainly but gave Mark a sadistic smile. “Do you want to know how we followed you home?” They moved closer to Mark, coming within a handsbreadth of his face. Mark simply glared at him; intense anger mixed with a little fear shone in his deep brown eyes. “We put a tracker in you while you were knocked out. You can thank the hospital for being none the wiser. They thought it was a harmless cyst.” They chuckled softly. “Well, it also held a paralysis toxin in it. So, until the police arrive…” The Tormentor reached out a hand and gently caressed Mark’s cheek. “You’re all mine to play with as I please.” They let out another chuckle. Mark could do nothing but moan softly and close his eyes in defeat. 'Jack… Please… Please stay safe and bring back help.’

The neighbors looked at Jack with a scared expression. Seeing that they were about to run and call the police Jack slowly raised his hands to show he meant no harm. “I’m sorry fir trespassing but I need yur help. Please. People have broken into Mark’s home just tree doors down and th’re holding him hostage.” Tears had started to stream down his face. The whole situation had gotten to him; he was desperate to try and help save Mark.

“Hey, it’s alright, lets give the police a call.” One of the neighbors motioned for everyone to head inside…


	6. Chapter 6

“Hold off on any Police preparations.” The Tormentor called out to their van techs. “Let’s see if we can convince Mark’s friend to rethink calling for help.” Using Mark’s cell they dialed a 4 digit code first to allow a direct connection to Jack’s phone without removing the cellular block that had been put in place. They then dialed Jack’s cell and waited for him to pick up.

Jack was just about to grab the neighbor’s landline when his cell rang. His breath caught in his throat and he froze for a moment. With his right hand Jack reached into his back pocket and pulled out the ringing cell phone. Jack’s heart sank as he checked the caller ID, it read 'Mark’s Cell’. Jack knew who it was on the other end and it wasn’t Mark. On the fourth ring Jack cautiously answered the phone. “Hullo?”

“Good evening Mr. McLoughlin.” The voice was slow and precise with each word spoken.

“What 'ave ya done to Mark?” Jack felt nervous and his voice was shaky.

“Nothing, yet…” The voice paused, allowing the 'yet’ to sink in. "But whether that continues to be the case will depend upon your level of cooperation.“

"What do ya want me to do?” Jack had started to sweat, whatever this person wanted it was not going to be good.

“First, you will not call the police unless you wish for Mark to die. Second, you will tell this to the other people in the room with you. Third, you will return to Mark’s house and surrender yourself to us within the next 10 minutes or Mark will die… Do you understand?” The voice paused to allow Jack time to respond.

Jack was terrified. 'They could be bluffing, but how am I to know?’ He tried to think of how to get out of this situation but all other options could potentially get Mark killed. He couldn’t risk Mark’s life, not after all the effort he had put into trying to save him. Jack fell to his knees in defeat and placed a hand over his eyes as he leaned his head back. “Yeah…” Jack spoke softly with little emotion. “Yeah, I understand.”

“Good. See you soon Jackieboy…” The line then went dead and Jack was left to his thoughts.

Jack felt sick to his stomach. What were they planning to do to him? 'I’m sorry Mark… I tried’ He rose to his feet and turned around to see the two neighbors just staring at him, obviously waiting for an explanation. “It was the kidnapper… Dey told me not to call deh police else my friend would be killed. That warning goes for you as well. Dey also demanded for me to return to deh 'ouse.”

“We’re so sorry Jack…” Both of the neighbors gave Jack a sorrowful expression. “Stay strong. We’ll try and help as best we can.”

Jack gave them a weak smile as he left their house. His heart seemed to pound louder with every few steps he took back towards Mark’s house. 'Hang in there Mark. If nothing else we’ll at least suffer through this together…’

He stopped just short of Mark’s front door. 'Well, here we go’ Jack opened the door and slowly walked inside then closed the door behind him. As he turned away from the door someone forcefully grabbed him and placed a damp cloth over his mouth. Jack started to struggle and tried to cry out but he wasn’t strong enough to break the person’s grip and his screams were muffled by the cloth. While his consciousness began to fade Jack could hear a faint voice call through the fog.

“So glad you could join us, Jack… Mark will be so pleased to see you!” The Tormentor chuckled softly and then everything went dark…


	7. Chapter 7

_Mark walked around an eerie black and white world. There was no sound, no smell, nothing but the lack of color gave this place any defining features. He seemed to be walking through a dessert with cacti and tumbleweed scattered sparsely across the flat untextured plane._

_In the distance a dark form cast a contrasting shadow against the white background. Mark started to sprint towards the form. As he drew closer though a feeling of dread swept over him. He could make out a frozen scene of Jack on his knees with the Tormentor standing directly behind him holding a syringe pointed at Jack’s neck. Mark reached out compulsively to the scene but it evaporated before his eyes. Just as soon as that scene disappeared another one popped up slightly further back. Mark sprinted over to the new scene and watched with horror as this one unfolded._

_The Tormentor drove the syringe deep into Jack’s neck and injected the discolored liquid. Mark tried to scream for the Tormentor to stop but it was too late. The Tormentor gave Mark a maniacal grin before disappearing into the void. Jack now started to slump over from the injection’s effects. Mark ran and slid to catch Jack before he hit the ground. The silence was deafening as Mark could do nothing but clutch his dear friend close against his chest. A single tear rolled off of Mark’s cheek and as it hit the ground he woke up…_

The dream left Mark feeling disoriented. It seemed more like a vision than a dream but who could really say? He heard heavy footsteps ascend the stairs towards his room. His heart sank as he saw Jack laying limp in the arms of the Tormentor’s lackey. Jack’s wrists were bound with a zip tie and his mouth was gagged with a cloth. 'No, Jack. Dammit!’ Mark was on the verge of tears. 'You were supposed to get away!’ Mark felt a crushing sense of helplessness as he watched the Lackey position Jack upright in a folding chair.

Using a length of parachute cord the Lackey proceeded to tie Jack securely to the chair. Before leaving though, the Lackey placed a heavy duty shock collar around Jack’s neck and gave Mark a sidelong glance with a slight smirk curling the corner of his lips. “Hope you’re ready for some fun.” The Lackey said this casually over his shoulder as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

Mark desperately tried to move but couldn’t as he was still under the effects of the paralysis drug. He tried to call out Jack’s name but nothing more than a muffled groan escaped his lips. Mark felt awful that Jack had been dragged into this. What did these damn people want with him and why did they bring Jack into this? Part of Mark was anxious to know the motive that drove his captors but the other part just wanted Jack and him to make it out of this alive.


	8. Chapter 8

Los Angeles Police Department (Current Time ) 

“McCoy!”

Sharen lifted her her head to see the police chief looking her way. “Yes chief?”

“A situation has developed with those two boys you helped out earlier today. It seems an anonymous tip left some information in regards to both boys currently being held hostage.”

Sharen leapt from her chair so fast that it almost fell over. “WHAT!? No…dammit! I should have posted a guard as an escort for them.” She slammed her fist on her desk. “Do we know where they are?”

The chief cleared his throat before speaking again. “The anonymous tip gave the location as Mark Fischbach’s residence but do not know the identity of their captors.”

Sharen relaxed a little. “Alright, that should be enough for us to go off of. Do you have a SWAT team to spare?”

“Yes, I can spare a 4 man team. I’ll let them know to report to you.”

“Thank you Chief. I’ll get things ready on my end before we head out.”

———————————————————————————–  
Mark’s House (1 hour later) 

The room smelled of sweat mixed with cinnamon Febreze, and some muted purple lights placed in each corner helped set an appropriately ominous mood for the torture scene that was playing out.

Jack tried to scream. The shock collar secured around his neck had been turned up to 7 and it hurt much more than when the Tormentor had started it at 3. Jack’s screams, however, were efficiently muffled by the makeshift cloth gag tied around his head. When the electricity stopped Jack relaxed back in the chair and dropped his head forward while his breath came in small short gasps. Despite the pain, he felt no regrets towards coming back to this trap. He cared more about keeping Mark alive than he did about his own life. That’s what true friends are for. They look out for each other no matter what.

“Please…please stop this!” Mark cried out. The Tormentor had asked for Mark’s gag to be removed. “Leave Jack alone. It’s me you want.”

Jack looked up to see the pain and worry strewn across Mark’s face. He felt so helpless. 'Please don’t let this be how we die.’ Jack’s thoughts raced as he tried to stay conscious through the pain and as he tried to figure out a plan for escaping this mess.

The Tormentor casually sauntered over to Mark and placed a hand under Mark’s chin. The Tormentor then gently tilted Mark’s head up before talking. “Oh Mark, you don’t seem to understand leverage do you? There’s nothing more motivating than knowing someone close to you is in danger of death. It really was so easy to convince Jack to return once I told him that your life was on the line otherwise.” The Tormentor then forcefully thrust their hand to the left which caused Mark to turn his head. They then leaned forward and whispered ever so softly into Mark’s ear. “Now, lets wrap things up here since I believe some friends of yours are just outside.” The Tormentor leaned away and walked back towards Jack.

Mark was confused and terrified by what the Tormentor meant by 'let’s wrap things up’ but he didn’t have to think on it for too long though; Just then the Tormentor took from their pocket a long syringe filled with a milky white substance. A severe sense of de ja vue came over Mark as he remembered the scene from his dream. His heart sank and he cried out in desperation. “Please! Please don’t. I’ll do what you want, just, please don’t do this!”

The scene played out almost exactly like his dream had. The Tormentor placed the syringe against Jack’s neck and looked straight into Mark’s pleading eyes. A familiar maniacal grin played upon their lips.

At the same time a sudden loud crash could be head from downstairs followed by stomping feat.

The Tormentor turned their gaze down towards Jack. “Goodbye Jack.” The syringe was plunged deep into Jack’s neck and the milky liquid quickly sank from the chamber…


	9. Chapter 9

Jack screamed in agony as the liquid coursed through his veins and caused his body to seemingly catch fire from within.

“NO! DAMMIT NO! Jack!” Mark fought desperately against the zip-ties in an attempt to break them but to no avail. He could do nothing but watch with growing fear as the unknown substance took its course through Jack’s system.

The Tormentor smiled down at Jack before laughing hysterically. “Oh what fun this has been! But now I must take my leave.” On that note, the Tormentor took a knife from their back pocket, and with one quick motion cut through the parachute cord that was holding Jack to the chair. Jack collapsed to the floor still crying in pain. The Tormentor gave Mark one last glance as they walked out of the room and down the stairs leaving Mark stuck on the bed with no way to help Jack.

Loud noises could be heard from downstairs as the SWAT team yelled at the captors to surrender. The yelling was followed by a smoke grenade and more stomping feet. One set paraded out the back door but the other quickly made it’s way up the stairs.

Sharen paused in the doorway as she took a short moment to assess the scene before her. Two LAPD officers were in toe standing directly behind her waiting patiently for her to give them orders. Without wasting more time she ran over to Mark, and using a pair of wire cutters, proceeded to remove the zip-ties that were restraining Mark’s wrists and ankles.

Mark used a free hand to yank off the cloth gag and then leaped from the bed. He couldn’t even bring himself to say thank you yet since his thoughts were completely focused on saving Jack. Tears started to form in his eyes as he moved to kneel next to Jack.

Jack had tears streaming down his face, his body was dripping in sweat, and he couldn’t help but cry out constantly as the unknown substance continued to burn him from within. This kept up for a few more seconds before finally subsiding. Jack slumped to the ground in a heap, his vision blurred and then faded to black as consciousness left him.

Mark swore under his breath. “Officer, please, we need to get him to the hospital now!” He pleaded in desperation. Mark was about to lift Jack up when a bout of dizziness struck him hard enough to make him collapse on the floor.

“Mark, you’re in no condition to help.” Sharen signaled to the officers that had accompanied her. “Grab them both. We need to bring them to the hospital. SWAT will take care of the kidnappers. Paramedics will take too long to arrive so we’ll just have to use our own transportation.”

The officers gave Sharen a nod of understanding and picked both Mark and Jack up off the ground. They carried the boys down to one of the cop cars parked out front and secured them in the back seat. Sharen hopped in the driver seat, and after taking a quick glance in the rear-view mirror, she sped off towards the hospital with sirens blaring…


	10. Chapter 10

_A familiar monochromatic landscape stretched into the horizon but the difference this time was that a soft beep beep could be heard echoing across the land. Mark walked for what seemed like hours through the lifeless plains, the soft beeping sound grew louder as he walked. Finally, in the distance, a mass of objects popped into existence and Mark started to sprint towards them. He stopped just ten feet away as the beeping sound suddenly made sense. There before him was Jack unconscious and sprawled out on a hospital bed. Tubes of varying sizes lead from the bed and into different machines. One machine, in particular, stood out from the rest. Mark’s eyes were glued to the heart monitor as it beeped in time with Jack’s heartbeat. The beeps kept a constant slow rhythm. 'Jack, please hang in there.’ The rhythm suddenly changed, the beeps started to slow until finally…flat-line… 'No’ Mark turned to look at Jack. The beep was long and ear-piercing. Mark fell to his knees and covered his ears, the sound was so unbearable. 'No, please, we were supposed to be safe!’ The world shattered around him as if in response to his cries._

Mark awoke to a loud and long ear-piercing beep. His eyes swept the room until he saw the collection of doctors standing around a bed just to his left. The familiar hospital smell assaulted his nose and made him cringe slightly. The doctors yelled some incoherent orders amongst each other while tossing medical tools back and forth across the patient’s bed. Mark had a creeping suspicion that the patient was Jack but he wanted to know for sure. In an attempt to leave the bed he was met with resistance at his right wrist. Mark snapped his head to the right and stared incredulously at the handcuff holding him to the bed. 'I am growing tired of waking up to being restrained in some fashion.’ Marked called for a nurse and one came to stand next to his bed. “Nurse, why am I handcuffed to my bed and who is in the bed to my left?”

The Nurse fixed him with a somber expression. “There was a concern for the safety of the staff, and the patient in the bed Is Sean McLoughlin.”  
The color drained from Mark’s face as the flat-line sound continued to assault his ears. “Oh god…no…don’t let him die! Please! Please, he can’t die…” Mark couldn’t hold back the tears that welled up around his eyes.

The minutes ticked by as the doctors desperately tried to resuscitate Jack. After 5 minutes with no luck the doctors were ready to call it.

…………….

Beep……..beep

…………….

beep………beep

Every doctor stopped and stared at the heart monitor. Beep…..beep. Jack’s heart rate slowly started to rise back to normal levels.


	11. Chapter 11

Mark had all but lost hope when the heart monitor beeped with new life. “Nurse, could you please uncuff me from my bed?” Mark pleaded with the nurse. “I just want to wait next to Jack’s bed until he wakes up, so that he can at least wake up to a friend being there for him.” Mark was trying to stay civil despite how upset he was about being handcuffed to his hospital bed.

The nurse was hesitant about uncuffing Mark, but she eventually gave a curt smile and ran off to grab one of the officers stationed outside the room.

Seconds later the nurse returns followed closely by Officer McCoy. Sharen looked at Mark and took a moment to decide on what his mental state was. She could see just how saddened Mark was by the whole situation. He showed no hostility or pain in his coffee brown eyes, just a longing to be done with this horrible torment once and for all. “I’m sorry for what you’ve gone through Mark, I didn’t mean to add to your suffering.” Sharen took a key from her vest and unlocked the cuffs holding Mark to the bed. She then gently helped him up off the bed and assisted in walking him to Jack’s bed. Jack’s vitals had stabilized so the doctors shuffled from the room. Mark, McCoy and the nurse from before were all that remained to watch over Jack.

\----------------------------------  
(1 hour later) 

Jack’s sky blue eyes opened slowly and he turned his head slightly to see who was holding his hand. He smiled at the sight of Mark passed out in a chair, he was hanging over Jack’s bed and holding firmly onto his hand. 'I hope this if finally over.’ Movement in the corner of the room gave Jack a fright and he twitched a little. McCoy had moved slightly in her chair as she watched Jack from the corner. She raised one of her hands in reassurance that everything was fine and Jack relaxed back against the bed. “Officer, I am glad ta see you.” At that moment Mark stirred and lifted his head. “Mornin’ sleepy head, ya 'ave a good nap?” Jack teased him halfheartedly.

Mark was tired and sore but he mustered up all of his strength to lean over the bed and pulled Jack into a tight hug. “You were dead….”

Jack’s eyes widened with shock “What!?”

“The heart monitor flate-lined and the doctors were about to call it quits after spending 20 minutes resuscitating you.” Mark was trying not to cry again.

Jack laughed a little. “Jesus…I…I had no idea. What the 'ell happened ta me before I fell unconscious? My memory is shot…”

Mark stopped hugging Jack and leaned back in his chair. He fixed Jack with a look that seemed to say 'you really don’t want to know.’ Mark fidgeted in his seat for a couple seconds debating on whether to help Jack recall what happened or not. “Well, after the shock torture they injected you with this milky white substance that seemed to make your insides catch fire by the way you were screaming…” The thought of Jack’s scream just made Mark feel more upset and livid at what the kidnappers did to them. “You passed out from all the pain, but Officer McCoy managed to get to us just in time to drive us to the hospital.” Marks expression grew somber. “About an hour and a half ago your vitals suddenly flat-lined and we all thought you were gone.” Mark looked up smiled at Jack. “I’m just glad it wasn’t the case.”

Jack shook his head in disbelief. “Who would 'ave guessed that while I was in town we would both be the victims of a kidnappin’?” Jack let out a soft chuckle before looking over at Officer McCoy. “What ended up happening to our kidnappers? Were you able to get dem?”

Sharen looked from Mark to Jack and spoke plainly. “Yes, we were able to apprehend them…” She leaned on the armrest of her chair. “Not without some casualties though… They ended up killing one of my squad mates. He had ran off to try and cut them off but got ambushed. I won’t go into details as to what they did to kill him, just be thankful that they were so nice to you two.”

Jack’s stomach churned at the thought of what could have been worse than what he went through.

“Thank you for risking so much to have saved us. I am sorry for not thanking you sooner.” Mark had stood up and leaned over to Officer McCoy with an outstretched hand.

Sharen politely shook Mark’s hand. “You are welcome. I do feel bad about not assigning a guard detail to you after you both left the hospital the first time. I didn’t realize they would try and kidnap you again.”

“It’s fine, there was no way fur any of us to 'ave known.” Jack gave McCoy a reassuring smile.

“Well, I am going to go make some phone calls. Jack is there anyone I should call for you?” Mark moved to the end of Jack’s bed and waited for him to reply.

“Yeah, give Wishu a call for me. I’m sure she’s wondering where I’ve been off ta for so long without some kind of update.”

Mark nodded in understanding and then walked out of the room to make some calls.

“Well, Sean, if you and Mark are all set here I’m going to return to my department. I do hope you have a speedy recovery and a safe trip home.” Sharen gave Jack a firm handshake and then left the room.

\-----------------------------------  
(2 hours later) 

Jack was escorted to his gate at the airport by one of McCoy’s officers. He took a seat near a window and watched with a relaxed expression on his face as the planes came and went. “It’ll be nice to be home.” He spoke quietly to himself before leaning back and closing his eyes to take a nap.

Mark was also escorted home by an officer. He felt nervous about coming home despite the danger being far away and behind bars. Still he hesitated before opening his front door. 'You’re home, you’re safe, nothing is going to hurt you.’ He had to reassure himself that everything was fine. With one swift motion he opened the front door and walked inside. As he walked along the hardwood floor Mark finally felt that he could relax and return to his normal life.

The End


End file.
